


Phone Play

by SailorChibi



Series: ageplay chatroom [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Play, Artist Steve, Baby Tony, Chat rooms, Chatting & Messaging, Daddy Steve, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Infantilism, Online Friendship, Online Relationship, Protective Steve Rogers, Shy Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, caregiver steve, chat speak, flustered Tony Stark, if I have to suffer y'all have to suffer with me, internet forums, little Tony, non sexual age play, non sexual infantilism, online age play, steve rogers is a good daddy, yup that's right the chat speak is BACK
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-11-28 05:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18203987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: There's a shy newcomer to the chatroom that Steve frequents on a regular basis. It's pretty hard to not want to adopt Ir0nMan as his own Little immediately.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This particular chapter takes place between chapter 1 and chapter 2 of [Online Play](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14151174/chapters/32615109).

His boss was a jackass, his co-workers were idiots, their clients had no common sense, and the fans were driving him nuts. Steve sighed and pushed himself away from his computer, pinching the bridge of his nose. He rubbed slowly, hoping to dispel the headache that he could feel building up in his temples. Most of the time he liked his job, but then there were days like this when he just wanted to throw his hands up and quit. He might have done so too, except that he knew his roommates would freak out if he went home and told them so.

"You look like you need a coffee," Peggy said, her face appearing over top of the cubicle way that separated her work space and Steve's. "Want to walk down to the corner with me?"

"Angie's working today, isn't she?" Steve said, sensing that the offer wasn't as innocent as it appeared to be. Peggy just shrugged and pasted on an innocent smile, which meant yes. Steve looked at her, looked at his computer, and immediately decided that watching Peggy make eyes at the cute barista was the lesser of two evils right now. He got up, grabbed his wallet, and stepped out of his cubicle. Peggy grinned, grabbed her jacket and joined him.

It was brisk outside, but not so much that Steve regretted leaving his jacket behind. The cool, crisp breeze helped to wake him up a little bit more. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly and forced himself to relax. That was easier said than done, but the reality was that he had to figure out how to draw that panel in such a way that everyone was happy with it. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been asked to do the impossible, and unfortunately it probably wouldn't be the last.

"I know," Peggy said, glancing at him. "But the deadline is just a few weeks away. We can do this."

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to lose my sanity in the process," Steve grumbled.

She smirked at him, her hot pink lipstick bright against her pale skin, and neatly sidestepped in front of him to enter the coffee shop first. Steve rolled his eyes at her back, though he couldn't deny the fond smile that tugged at his lips. As frustrating as she could be sometimes, he was really happy that he and Peggy had ended up working for the same company. Things had been rocky between them for a while after they broke up in university, and he'd honestly thought that they would go their separate ways, but he could safely say now that they were back to being really good friends. 

"There she is!" Peggy hissed, gripping Steve's arm.

Steve looked towards the front of the shop as they joined the long line. Angie - he wasn't sure of her last name - was making drinks while one of her co-workers manned the cash. Her long brown hair was pinned up beneath a hairnet; Steve had spent many hours listening to Peggy wax poetic about how much she wanted to get her hands into Angie's hair. As Angie lifted her head, she spotted Steve first and her eyes widened, then darted to the side. The second she saw Peggy, Steve was pretty sure that he ceased to exist. Peggy gave a little sigh.

"Like a romance movie," Steve muttered to himself, taking his phone out of his pocket. Ever hopeful, he unlocked it, opened his internet browser and refreshed the chat page. There were new messages from a few people, but nothing from Ir0nMan. He tried not to sigh too loud.

"No messages from your sweetheart?" Peggy asked absently, giving Angie a coy smile. Angie grinned back.

"I don't have a sweetheart," said Steve.

Peggy scoffed. "You've got something. You've sighed at your phone so many times in the past week that I'm starting to wonder if it's stealing your air."

"I do not," Steve said indignantly.

"You really do," Peggy said. "What's so interesting?" She turned to look down at the phone. Steve hastily locked it. Peggy narrowed her eyes at him. Steve swallowed. Peggy could be as relentless as Natasha when she wanted to know something, and he was pretty sure that she knew his combination. He half-considered making a run for it, except there was no doubt in his mind that, high heels or not, Peggy would be able to chase him down.

"Next!"

"There is a god," Steve whispered to himself as Peggy immediately lost all interest, instead surging forward to take her place at the counter. She gave an unnecessarily long coffee order, paid, and then moved to plant herself square in front of where Angie was making drinks. They made eyes at each other while Steve placed his own order, paid, and then stepped aside.

Truthfully, he hadn't told anyone about Ir0nMan. Bucky already knew, of course, and so did Natasha, Clint and anyone else who frequented the chatroom. That was both helpful and not, because it meant that while Steve had people he could to about Ir0nMan, those same people could (and did) tease the shit out of him. But Peggy didn't know about Steve's interests in age play. He'd discovered that after they broke up, and it was never something he'd felt comfortable sharing with her. He knew she wouldn't understand, and it seemed somehow cheap to compare Ir0nMan to someone he was interested in dating when that simply wasn't the case.

He received his coffee and Peggy got her drink; on the walk back, Steve listened to Peggy talk about Angie's hands with half an ear while thinking about Ir0nMan. If he busted his ass at work this afternoon, he'd have time to log onto the chatroom tonight while working. Over the last ten days, he'd it hadn't taken him long to work out that Ir0nMan usually signed in once every two days - sometimes more, but not often. Steve had been doing his best to keep an eye on the chatroom so that he could be there if he saw Ir0nMan's name pop up.

Bucky had been teasing him something awful, saying that Steve's heart had been captured after a handful of conversations. Steve denied it all, but he couldn't deny that there was something about Ir0nMan that tugged at his heart. Every time he remembered that first conversation between him, Natasha and Ir0nMan, Ir0nMan's clear shyness and hesitancy to join the conversation brought a tender smile to Steve's face. It was very obvious that Ir0nMan was new to age play, and very uncertain about how to proceed. Having Natasha there had helped immensely, as Steve was pretty sure her presence had put Ir0nMan at ease.

“Alright, back to the daily grind,” Peggy said, jerking Steve out of his thoughts. He looked at the work he still had yet to do. His company was planning the release of a new series in five weeks. The deadlines were tight. He took a gulp of coffee and settled down to work.

It was almost seven before Steve left the office, laptop tucked beneath his arm and fingers aching from spending all day clutching at either a computer mouse or a pen. He took the subway home and walked the last five blocks, then took the nine flights of stairs up to his apartment. Sam wasn’t home, he could tell by the lack of sneakers at the door, but the smell of burned spaghetti told him that Scott was.

“It’s not my fault!” Scott called defensively.

“Then whose fault is it?” Steve asked mildly.

“Oh, Steve. It’s just you.” Scott sounded relieved, and Steve rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Sam and Scott had this weird fight going on wherein Sam cooked all the meals and Scott tried to cook and failed miserably everytime. He was pretty sure this was their version of flirting. Steve didn’t really care, except that he mourned all the meals that had been sacrificed to Scott’s shitty cooking skills.

He made his way into the kitchen and made a face when he saw the mess. “Scott, dude.”

“I know, I know,” Scott said, throwing a whisk down. “I give up. I’ll chuck it all in the dumpster on my way downstairs. I’ll buy you pizza if you swear you won’t tell Sam what happened.”

Steve privately thought that Sam was going to notice the fact that their one good pot had mysteriously vanished, but he didn’t say as much: he wasn’t going to turn down free pizza. He nodded. “Deal. I’ll be in my room. Make sure you get –”

“Chicken, bacon and ranch, yeah, I got it,” Scott said, waving him off.

“I wish you’d just fuck already. At this rate, you’re going to burn the place down flirting,” Steve muttered, retreating to his room. He propped the window open with a shoebox, hoping to dissipate the smell of burned noodles, and sat down at his desk. It was big, easily taking up over half the room, but Steve wanted it that way. It gave him ample space to have his laptop, drawing materials, and anything else he needed laid out.

He opened his laptop, but didn’t switch it on. Instead, he logged into the forum and navigated back to the chatroom. A spike of excitement went through him when he realized that Ir0nMan was logged in. The green circle beside his name meant that was actively posting, and Steve eagerly opened the window itself. But just as quickly, a frown crossed his face when he read the messages.

 **mischiefmanaged:** its really not that hard  
 **mischiefmanaged:** u must have some idea  
 **mischiefmanaged:** if u want to be on here u should know  
 **Ir0nMan:** well i dont  
 **mischiefmanaged:** but u must have a guess at least  
 **mischiefmanaged:** i sent u the link with all the different ages on it  
 **mischiefmanaged:** im about four but my daddy says im a brat and that i can act younger  
 **mischiefmanaged:** which one fits you best

Steve’s frown deepened. He didn’t know mischiefmanaged in real life, but he sort of knew mischiefmanaged’s daddy – their group met up sometimes outside of the forum, and Thor had come to a couple of the meetings. He’d brought his partner, Jane, along with him, but never their Little. Loki, if Steve remembered correctly, apparently was not comfortable meeting anyone in real life yet. Looking at the screen, Steve thought he could see why. The kid was a little shit.

 **BrooklynnDaddy:** thats enough mischiefmanaged  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** u shouldnt be pressuring ironman  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** he doesnt have 2 know anything rite now  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** this forum is 4 every1

**_mischiefmanaged has left the chatroom_ **

Steve sighed. Chasing mischiefmanaged away wasn’t his intent, but he wasn’t going to let mischiefmanaged pressure Ir0nMan either. That would be an excellent way to make sure that Ir0nMan never logged into the chatroom again, and, since Steve had no other way of contacting him, he really didn’t want to happen. He’d send a private message to mischiefmanaged later to smooth any ruffled feathers.

For now, his primary concern was Ir0nMan. Steve hesitated for a moment, thumbs hovering over his phone, as he tried to decide what to say. He could see that Ir0nMan hadn’t logged out, but he wasn’t saying anything either. It was going to be up to Steve to break the ice.

 **BrooklynnDaddy:** sorry about that ironman  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** I dont want 2 make excuses for him but he didnt mean anything by that  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** hes just too curious for his own good  
 _Ir0nMan: its ok_

_He’d answered. Steve breathed a sigh of relief._

__Ir0nMan: I was just surprised and didnt know what 2 say  
 _Ir0nMan: I really dont know  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** u dont have 2 know  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** being a Little is harder  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** cause you have to figure out the age range  
 **BrooklynnDaddy:** i had it easy i knew being a daddy suited me__ _

___That wasn’t _completely_ true. Figuring out that he was a daddy had been one of the easiest parts of the process. But figuring out what age range he wanted to care for? That hadn’t been quite so simple. Steve had done a hell of a lot of research before deciding that he wanted a Little who was a baby. He hadn’t met many, and Ir0nMan hadn’t confirmed that’s what he was of course, but Steve had a feeling._ _ _

____Ir0nMan: how did you u figure out thats what you were into  
 _Ir0nMan: if u dont mind me asking__ _ _ _

_____Steve smiled fondly at his phone – Ir0nMan’s innocent curiosity would never cease to be adorable - and leaned back in his chair to put his feet up on the desk. Ir0nMan could ask whatever he wanted and Steve would happily answer. He settled into a comfortable position, propping his phone on his stomach, and started to type._ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

"So, how did it go after I left?" 

A beer bottle thumped down on the bar at the same time as the question came. Steve jumped, having been deeply involved in sketching a picture, and lifted his eyes from his sketchpad to frown at - who else? - Bucky. But, par for the course, the frown did absolutely nothing to dissuade his friend's curiosity. Bucky just grinned at him, wiggling his eyebrows. Steve's frown fell away and he settled for rolling his eyes instead, grabbing the beer and popping it open. He took a long drink, deliberately drawing it out while he tried to decide how much he wanted to share.

"Steve," Bucky finally whined, sounding so much like Clint that Steve let out an amused snort. He finally pulled the beer bottle away and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I think it went okay," he said at last, putting the bottle back down on the bar. "We did end up roleplaying. Ir0nMan was pretty shy at first, but he came around to the idea by the end."

"And he's a Little?" Bucky asked, as though there was really any question.

"No doubt about it. A young Little, too. Youngest I've seen, anyway." Steve tried to control the excitement and happiness that built up inside him when he said that out loud. He'd had five Littles in the past, though he only considered three of those relationships to have been serious. For varying reasons, those relationships hadn't lasted. But it had been enough to teach Steve that his preferences definitely ran towards the younger side of things. He didn't want a Little who could care for themselves: he was in this so that he could do that _for_ them. 

Unfortunately it wasn't always that easy to find younger Littles, maybe because they didn't feel comfortable going online or because they had a hard time finding the website or - well, there could be dozens of reasons. Bottom line was, Steve had almost given up hope before Ir0nMan wandered into the forums. If he didn't know better, he would've thought one of his friends was catfishing him: Ir0nMan was just exactly what Steve wanted, as perfect as though Steve had drawn him up in his sketchpad and magic had brought Ir0nMan to life. 

But first of all, his friends would never do something that cruel. And secondly, there was no mistaking that soft, cute voice that had spoken to Steve over the phone. No one was good enough to fake the kind of emotion that had been in Ir0nMan's voice. Steve's heart broke every time he remembered it. He still didn't know exactly what had happened to Ir0nMan to make him so upset, but it was enough to make Steve know he hated Ir0nMan's father. The references to long meetings that Ir0nMan hated, but which his father forced him to attend, and the fact that Ir0nMan thought no one cared about him was enough to insure that.

"I'd agree with you there," said Bucky, drawing Steve's attention back to him. He sat down on the stool beside Steve with his own bottle of beer and took a long swig. "He does seem pretty young. And I don't just mean his headspace. You sure you're not talking to a real kid?"

Steve shook his head. "No. I mean, I'd say he's young. Maybe twenty-ish?" He thought again about the sound of Ir0nMan's voice and nodded. "I told you what he said about the meetings his father makes him go to. He's not in high school if that's what you're getting at."

"Just wondering," Bucky said, shrugging. "Not judging. Clint was only sixteen when he came to live with me."

"Yeah, well. I hope to hell that Ir0nMan's life is better than Clint's," Steve said with a scowl. Clint had run away from home with his older brother when they were kids, because their father had been abusive. But then Clint's brother had abandoned him, leaving Clint to fend for himself. Clint had ended up with a man who taught him about age play, but it hadn't taken long for that relationship to turn abusive too. 

Then came the day when Natasha literally took Clint by the hand, led him home to Bucky, and told Bucky straight-up that she wanted Bucky to adopt Clint. Steve had to smile at the memory. Bucky had been flabberghasted, to say the least, only eighteen at the time and still figuring things out with Natasha. That had been five years ago, and now to look at the three of them you would never know that they had ever been anything but perfectly content. As happy as Steve was for them, he also found himself envious. He wanted what Bucky had with Clint and Natasha, and for the first time in a long time he thought he might've found a person that could happen with.

"I hope so too, for that kid's sake," Bucky muttered. "So. Your roleplay went well?"

"Actually, yeah. It really did. A bit awkward, but you know what it's like when you're working things out. We have plans to do it again tonight."

"So soon? Oh boy, I guess that means I'm never going to see you again. You'll be spending all your time with Ir0nMan. I guess Clint and Natasha will have to find a new uncle."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid. That would never happen. You know I love those two to death," he said. "I just - I really like Ir0nMan. He's a sweet kid. And you can tell how much he wants to make people happy. It's like you said last night. It would be way too easy for someone to snap him up."

Bucky nodded, but still frowned. "Just be careful Stevie, okay? It would be really easy for Ir0nMan to like... imprint on you, or something like that. You're the first person he met on the forums, and he knows nothing about age play. Take it slow. I don't want you to get too invested if it turns out that he's not into age play after all."

"I'm being careful," Steve promised; he understood where Bucky was coming from, but it was hard to hold himself back. Already he wanted to know more about Ir0nMan. What colors did he like? What tv shows did he watch? Did he sleep with a stuffed toy? Would he like to sleep with a stuffed toy? The list of questions seemed endless, and all Steve craved were answers.

"Sure you are," Bucky said with a shake of his head, draining the rest of his beer. 

"I am! After we roleplayed last night, I gave him a whole list of resources to read up on. He didn't even know he was a Little, Buck. I'm not trying to take advantage of him. I want him to know as much as he needs to know to make an informed decision."

Bucky finally smiled. “I know you do. That’s why you’re a good guy.” He motioned to the bartender. “Maybe someday, once you and Ir0nMan get more comfortable with each other, we can have play dates.”

“I think that’s pretty far in the future,” Steve said, amused, though he did have to admit that it was a nice thought. “I’m not sure Clint is ready to share my attention. You know how jealous he gets when I try to spend time with just Natasha.”

“All kids gotta learn to share,” Bucky said as the bartender moved over to them.

Steve’s phone buzzed. He left Bucky to order for them while he reached into his pocket. His heart immediately warmed when he saw that he had a text from Ir0nMan. He’d been a little worried that Ir0nMan would want to stick solely to the forums and chatrooms, but that didn’t seem to be the case. While that seemed to be primarily how Ir0nMan wanted to communicate, he’d been sending Steve cute little texts all day.

_9:09pm Ir0nMan: I’m so bored these meetings are the worst_

_9:10pm Steve: Wish I were there to entertain you baby. Or better yet, wish you were here with me. Winter and I are at a bar having a few drinks._

“That’s got to be Ir0nMan,” Bucky said. “No one else puts that dumb smile on your face. Tell him I said hello.”

_9:10pm Steve: Winter says hello_

“He’s in meetings,” Steve said, locking his phone. “He’s bored.”

“Meetings, huh? Wonder what kind of work he and his dad do?”

Steve shrugged. “No clue. We haven’t talked about anything personal. He probably knows my name since someone wrote it in the chatroom.” He nudged Bucky in the ribs playfully. “And I told him what I do for a living, but that’s it. He hasn’t told me his name or anything.”

“Do you wonder what he looks like?” Bucky asked.

Steve made a mistake then; he glanced down at his sketchpad instinctively. Bucky knew that look, and was damnably fast: he grabbed Steve’s sketchpad, fending Steve off by half-twisting so his back was to Steve, and opened it to the page Steve had been drawing on before Bucky arrived. There on the page were a dozen rough sketches of young men, with all different faces, clothing, and hairstyles.

After a moment, Bucky said, “Well, you’re definitely curious.”

“Shut up,” Steve muttered, his face heating up, and grabbed the sketchpad back. He was realistic enough to know that his sketches looked nothing like Ir0nMan, but it was fun to let his mind wander. Did Ir0nMan have blue eyes? Brown eyes? Was he short or tall? Fat or skinny? Did he have long hair like Bucky or shorter hair like Steve? 

“Hopefully,” Bucky said, shaking his head.

“Shut up,” Steve repeated, sticking his tongue out this time. His phone buzzed again and he grabbed it.

_9:14pm Ir0nMan: Oh that sounds fun but my dad would def notice my absence_

_9:14pm Ir0nMan: Ill stop texting u tho if youre busy_

_5:15pm Steve: its fine!!!!! Winter is no one special_

“Hey!” Bucky whined, hanging over Steve’s shoulder to see the phone screen.

“Truth hurts,” Steve said.

_5:15pm Steve: tell me about ur day baby_

“So much for a guy’s night,” Bucky muttered, but he didn’t sound upset. In fact, he was smiling as he resettled himself against Steve’s shoulder. They both eagerly watched the screen, and the three dots that indicated Ir0nMan was typing, to see what was going to come next.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
